Fifth wheel trailers have been used extensively for many years because of a number of advantages that they offer over other types of trailers. In particular, fifth wheel trailers permit somewhat heavier loads to be towed safely. Additionally, fifth wheel trailers track well behind towing vehicles, even when adverse road conditions are encountered. Finally, fifth wheel travel trailers provide a great deal of useable interior room.
Fifth wheel trailers have become popular in recent years in the travel trailer industry. A conventional fifth wheel travel trailer is specifically designed to be towed by a pick up truck or a flat bed truck. The front end of a fifth wheel travel trailer is elevated above the bed of the truck. The fifth wheel travel trailer includes a mounting portion, sometimes referred to as a kingpin that extends downward from beneath the elevated front end of the trailer and engages a trailer hitch that is secured to the bed of the pick up truck. Preferably, the hitch is positioned directly above the rear wheels of the truck. This fifth wheel hitch arrangement has the advantage that a significant portion of the weight of the trailer is applied to the truck bed over the truck's rear wheels, increasing the traction that can be obtained by the truck. This, in turn, produces a towing combination of truck and trailer which handles well during towing, minimizing sway, and which backs up with relative ease. Further, the two level design of the trailer results in an elevated forward portion of the trailer that can be used advantageously as a bedroom area.
Fifth wheel trailers, however, are not without some disadvantages. Some fifth wheel trailers have designs that reduce the turning radius of the towed trailer. Typically, the turning radius is restricted to avoid contact between the forward, elevated portion of the trailer and the passenger cab of the truck. This situation is exacerbated with a short bed truck in which the vehicle hitch assembly is positioned closer to the truck cab than the case with a truck having a bed of standard length. To improve the turning radius, some fifth wheel trailers now have curved or angled surface contours at the front of the trailer bodies. Such a trailer body contour results in a truck/trailer combination in which sharply turning the truck with the trailer in tow does not produce contact between the truck and the trailer. This curved front portion of the fifth wheel trailer, however, requires that an appropriate chassis design be used, in some instances complicating chassis construction.